May 27, 2012

Making Bento for my Son/息子の弁当作り


More than one month has passed since I started making bento for my son on weekdays (and sometimes on Saturdays and Sundays as well).
I had planned how to make bento for him well in advance.  From two questionnaire surveys on bento I found on the Internet, I learned that most people spend up to twenty minutes (about 30% of the respondents) and up to thirty minutes (about 30%) in the morning making bento that have three or four okazu in them.
After much thought, I decided to make a bento that contains four or five okazu within ten minutes.  To that end, I have to make preparations in advance.
Four okazu are almost fixed:  Boiled broccoli, atsuyaki tamago (Japanese-style thick rolled omelet), spinach goma ae (dressed with sesame seeds), and cherry tomatoes (all of which are his favorites).
平日(時には土曜と日曜も)息子の弁当を作り始めてから、一ヶ月以上経ちました。
息子の弁当の作り方については、前もって計画を立てていました。インターネットで見つけた、弁当に関する2つのアンケート調査から、大抵の人は、朝、最高20分(回答者の約3割)、最高30分(同じく約3割)かけて、おかずが3~4個入ったお弁当を作ると分かりました。
色々考えた末、私はおかずが4~5個入った弁当を10分以内で作ることにしました。そのためには、前もって準備が必要です。
おかず4個は、ほぼ決まっています。茹でたブロッコリー、厚焼き玉子、ほうれん草のごま和え、ミニトマトです(すべて息子の好物)。

I kept this tray, which came with store-bought frozen food.
市販の冷凍食品について来たこのトレイを取っておきました。


I bought a set of four silicone cups at a 100-yen shop (shown on the left).  Shown on the right are packs of large and small aluminum cups that I usually use.
100円ショップでシリコンカップ4個セット(左)を買いました。右にあるのは、普段使っているアルミのカップ(大と小)です。


This is the way I use the tray together with aluminum cups.
トレイはアルミカップと一緒に、このように使います。


I store atsuyaki tamago in the partial freezing compartment of the fridge.
厚焼き卵は冷蔵庫のパーシャル冷凍室に保存します。


I make small hamburgers in the toaster oven.
小さなハンバーグをオーブントースターで作ります。


I put some in each aluminum cup and store in the freezer.
アルミカップに入れて、冷蔵庫で保存します。


I also store chicken karaage and deep-fried meat balls in the same way.
鶏の唐揚げや揚げ肉団子も同様に保存します。

I boil broccoli in a pot for 2 min. and store in the freezer.
ブロッコリーは2分ゆでて、冷凍庫に保存します。

My job in the morning is to assemble them together in the bento box, except cherry tomatoes, which I previously put in a separate container and store in the fridge. 
朝の仕事はこれらを組み合わせて、弁当箱に入れることです。ミニトマトは例外で、前に別の容器に入れ、冷蔵庫に保存しています。


I usually sprinkle something on the rice, such as goma shio (salt and sesame seeds).
普通、ご飯には何か(ごま塩など)を振り掛けます

I place the lid diagonally on top of the bento box to keep out dust while cooling the rice.  I make it a point to cook rice every morning.
ご飯を冷ましている間、ほこりが入らないよう、弁当箱に蓋を斜めに置きます。毎朝、ご飯を炊くようにしています。


Then I wrap the bento box in a bandana.
そして弁当箱をバンダナで包みます。


Shown on the right is my son's portable thermos bottle.
右にあるのは、息子の携帯用魔法瓶です。

I make it a point to make barley tea the night before, by boiling water.
麦茶は前の日に、お湯を沸かして作るようにしています。


All my family hate the off-flavor of barley tea made with cold water.
家族みんな冷水で作った麦茶の変な味が嫌いなので。

As you can see from the photos below, all of my son's bento look almost the same.
次の写真を見て分かるとおり、息子の弁当はどれも殆ど同じです。









I don't thaw store-bought frozen foods in a microwave unless otherwise specified on the package.  I usually don't thaw home-made frozen foods, either.
市販の冷凍食品はパッケージに解凍するよう書いてなければ、電子レンジで解凍しません。また、普通は自家製の冷凍食品も解凍しません。

8 comments:

okasan said...

You are very efficient at making bento, your son is so lucky. You are so smart to use the silicon cups, you can manipulate the okazu easily this way. You must have to get up very early each morning to make rice. Even with a rice cooker it takes 40 minutes. Do you pack a bento for yourself too?

Unknown said...

I have to make bento for my three children every day so it was very useful to see your methods. If you don't thaw the okazu in the microwave or fridge, what do you do? Does it just thaw naturally by lunchtime? Thank you for your site!

Hiroyuki said...

okasan: He is not lucky. There are a lot of parents (usually mothers) who can make much better bento for their children and spouses.

I was glad when I found silicone cups at a 100 yen shop; at home improvement centers, they are much more expensive. But, I have two minds about using them, because I have to wash and rinse after use. Are they more eco-friendly than disposable aluminum cups???

I use the timer function of the rice cooker, and when I get up, the rice is cooked. I DO have to get up early, around 5:20, though.

I work at home, so I don't need a bento.

Unknown: Yes, yes, it just thaw naturally by lunchtime, as you say.

Sissi said...

Hiroyuki, I'm sincerely impressed by your detailed organisation and bento making skills! Your son is a very lucky boy!
I also work at home most of the time but whenever I go to work in the office I make Japanese style bentos lots of work but such a pleasure!
I have very similar silicone cups. I bake cookies in them, but they look very cute too. The 100 yens shops will "hypnotise" me when I go to Japan... It's one of the "activities" I have already planned and also planned to exclude my husband from it (I know it would be a nightmare: I am able to spend hours there).
I must see if I am allowed to bring a rice cooker from Japan... They sound so magical! (My doesn't have any timer it's just on and off and it wasn't a cheap one, the brand is quite good too). Japanese rice cookers cost a fortune here in my Japanese grocery shops.

Hiroyuki said...

Sissi: When I took my parents to one of those 100 yen shops for the first time about a decade ago, they ended up spending more than 10,000 yen!
But, be careful! Some items are cheaper at supermarkets and home improvement centers, and some items are just cheap and nasty.

If you ever decide to buy a rice cooker in Japan, I'd suggest buying an IH or pressure IH cooker.

Sissi said...

Thank you, Hiroyuki for the advice. I have written down the brand (yes, I have already a shopping and activities list for my trip to Japan!).
I will also be careful with 100 yen shops.

muskratbyte said...

The 100 yen shops in Japan are similar to our "Dollar Stores"... although strangely, most dollar stores now carry mostly items that are over a dollar each. You also have to be careful for value and quality there. I definitely plan to spend some time in 100 Yen stores when I finally get to visit Japan!

Hiroyuki said...

muskratbyte: Thanks for letting me know about Dollar Stores. I did a quick google search and found one video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjDBH3GZiOs
(There should be more.)
100 yen shops are like your "Dollar Stores" in that they now carry not only 100 yen items but also more expensive (150, 200, 300, and even 500 yen) items.